I just finished reading The 100 Most Powerful Affirmations for Social Problems by Jason Thomas. The writer starts by explaining how affirmations work. He also said affirmations should be positive and actionable.

Here are a few examples:

I am strong in my values and confident in my abilities.

I have the ability to plan, organize, and do.

I am resilient and fierce.

I have the power within me to create the life I desire.

I must admit, the whole thing seems a bit silly to me. Has anyone actually tried using affirmations? If so, did you notice any benefit?

Who controls you? Do you have an internal or an external locus of control?

Those who believe outside forces completely determine what will happen to them, have an external locus of control. They view obstacles as insurmountable and believe they are unable to change their life circumstances.

Those who believe they can impact their life through their own actions, have an internal locus of control. They are not immune to unfortunate events, trauma, or other obstacles. However, they focus on finding solutions to their problems.

It is important to notice, bad things happen to people in both groups. The difference is in how they view negative events and in how they deal with the problems created by those events.

This is Old Stuff Day. When I think about old stuff in my house, the first thing that comes to mind is this washboard.

My grandmother, Edith (Stevens) Lynn, purchased the washboard in 1957, from Carabaos Store in Anchorage, Alaska. My grandfather was in the Army and he was stationed there at the time.

It’s amazing to think about how different their lives were from mine. I can’t even fathom how long it would take to do laundry for an entire family with a washboard or how much elbow grease was involved in that task.

Life for them was hard. They moved constantly with the Army and sometimes spent less than one year at a location before moving again. They raised four kids and would sacrifice to provide the best possible life for their children.

My mom remembers in the early years, when my grandfather was just a private, my grandmother would skip meals. She sat at the table and said she wasn’t hungry. However, the truth was she didn’t have enough food to feed everyone. She decided her husband needed a good meal, since he was a soldier, and the children needed food to grow, be healthy, and do well in school.

The washboard now hangs in our laundry room, but it’s more than a decorative piece. It is a reminder of my family legacy.

The sacrifice and hard work of my grandparents, gave my mom the chance at a good education and an example of how to survive in the world.

Mom passed that legacy down to her children. Today my life successes are a reflection of that tradition and I try to teach Gwen the same values I learned from Mom.

It began over 60 years ago, a tradition of hard work, dedication, and love for your family. It still continues to this day, thanks to my grandparents, Frank and Edith Lynn.

It’s Make a Friend Day, so I decided to post a few tips on how to make friends.

Be willing to help others, even if it’s not convenient for you. One day you will need help and it will be an inconvenience to other people.

Be willing to forgive and remember nobody is perfect. One day you will need people to forgive you.

Celebrate the successes of other people and resist jealousy.

Comfort people in times of failure or need, without gloating or belittling them.

Be a trustworthy person.

Basically, be the friend you want your friend to be.

Cute dog friendship photos to celebrate Make a Friend Day

Ben is the large white dog. He is a Great Pyrenees and weighs over 100 pounds. Buddy is the black dog. He is a Beagle/Rottweiler mix and weighs just under 50 pounds. Both dogs are two years old and, as you can see from the pictures, they are best friends.

You cannot serve two masters. You will end up loving one and hating the other.

Don’t be anxious about your life. Anxiety and worry will not solve any problems.

I am guilty of putting energy into low priority issues, while ignoring high priority things. This happens when I am more concerned about what other people will think about me than I am about achieving my goals.

The best way to determine if I am truly focusing on my priorities is to compare them to my schedule. Then I will know if I am really focusing on what is important to me.

Do you have the same problem? What techniques do you use to keep your priories in their proper place?